Reflection on Luke 15:1-10

 

Luke 15:1-10

1 Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to [Jesus.] 2 And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, “This fellow welcomes (looks for) sinners and eats with them.”

  3 So he told them this parable: 4 “Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it? 5 And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders and rejoices. 6 And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my lost sheep.’ 7 Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.

  8 “Or what woman having ten silver coins, if she loses one of them, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? 9 And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’ 10 Just so, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

 

Reflection

You could say that sinners are lost in life.  They wander in dark places in this world where no one should wander.  But you do not have to be a terrible sinner to be lost.

You could be like the young widow who just wanted to be pretty.  It was one year since he passed, moved on, kicked the bucket…died.  The love of her life was dead, defeated by cancer.  Dead.  It was still a hard word to say. 

And, after one year she found herself staring at the face of another man.  He sat across from the table at the nice restaurant.  He was nice.

Why was she here?  It was because a week before she was staring at all the beautiful dresses in her closet.  For a year she had worn none of them.  They had no purpose.  And she just missed being pretty.  So, she put on a pretty dress and went on a date because she wanted nothing more than to be pretty, but she did not feel pretty.  She could not possibly be pretty because what she actually wanted was to be pretty for him, her husband.  And that was not possible.  And she was utterly lost.

You do not have to be a terrible sinner to be lost.

Of course, most sinners are lost.  The man who steals because that is how he learned to get by in life with absent parents is a sinner, and he is lost.  The girl who pushes other girls around in the bathroom because she is pushed around at home and needs to have some control, some power over someone in this life is a sinner, and she is lost.  The tax collector who charges plenty extra on top of the tax bill because he feels like the hateful negativity he faces everyday warrants a little extra payment is a sinner, and he is lost.  Most sinners are hurt people who are just trying to get by the way they know how.  And all of them have lost their way.  Our televisions and social media feeds these past couple of weeks have been just full of lost sinners, taking out their pain on other people, and all of them have lost their way.

But you do not have to be a terrible sinner to be lost.  A person could argue that the Pharisees and the scribes who grumble about Jesus are also lost.  I think that Jesus is convinced of this. 

The religious leaders see the “tax collectors and sinners” being drawn to Jesus.  They grumble and say not so quietly to one another, “This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them” (Luke 15:1-2).  But their accusations are even worse than that.  The Greek word for “welcoming” sinners can be more pointedly translated “looks for” sinners.  They grumble that Jesus “looks for” sinners and eats with them.  He intentionally searches for and hangs out with the worst crowds.  Who in their right mind does that?

But Jesus thinks that the people who search for the “lost” are the people who are in their “right mind.”  Those who walk away and do not search are no better than those who are lost.  In fact, those who walk away are lost themselves.

“Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it?” Jesus asks (Luke 15:4). 

Who leaves ninety-nine sheep alone where wolves snatch and snakes bite to find one sheep?  No one!  No one in their right mind does that!  It makes no logical sense.  If you have almost $10,000 worth of sheep, who would risk losing all that value to find one sheep that is only worth $100?  No one in their right mind does that!

But Jesus is convinced that the shepherd who leaves the ninety-nine to find the one is the only person who is in their right mind.  Maybe he is right.  At least, I hope that he is right, because you do not need to be a terrible sinner to be lost. 

I have been lost in life, many times.  And I am willing to bet that you have been lost in life as well.  In fact, Isaiah 53:6 says, “all we like sheep have gone astray,” and I think that Jesus knows that.  All of us get lost.  We get lost in our pain, we get lost in our grief, we get lost in our loneliness, we get lost in our fears, we get lost in ourselves, and we get lost in our sins.  “All have sinned,” Romans 3:23 reminds us.  “All we like sheep have gone astray.”  All of us get lost and need to be found.  It is true.

One of my favorite viral videos that I can watch over and over again is of a sheep, trapped in a ditch.  The farmer pulls the sheep out of the ditch and sets it free to graze in the lush field and the sheep excitedly runs through the lush grass and excitedly jumps right back into the ditch.  The video is titled: “Actual footage of Jesus rescuing me from my bad decisions.”  It is so funny because it is so true.  All of us get lost and need to be found, again and again.

If you are the one who is lost, if you are the one who finds themselves alone with no one able or willing to help, you would want someone, anyone, to find you and help you.  When we are lost, we hope more than anything that someone will notice and leave the ninety-nine other sheep to find us.  When we are lost, we hope and pray that someone thinks that we are valuable enough to search for us like that woman that Jesus talks about who lost a silver coin and “light(s) a lamp, sweep(s) the house, and search(es) carefully until she finds it” (Luke 15:8).  When we are lost, we fantasize about the day that someone finds us and “calls together her friends and neighbors” and shouts, “Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost” (Luke 15:9).

In a world that often does not care; in a world where people are seen as expendable by corporations and expendable for bigger causes; in a world where we are encouraged to hide our pain and paint on a mask of happiness for the benefit of everyone else; in a world where it is so easy to get lost and not even be seen, I want you to clearly hear that Jesus rejects those who would choose to forget about you.  Not only does he reject those who would forget about you, but the Bible says that Jesus intentionally “looks for” those who are lost and “eats with them.”  God’s heavenly feast is not for the purpose of celebrating the ninety-nine sheep who are perfectly fine, the feast is thrown for you, O lost, forgotten, and broken child. 

Jesus will find you.  Every single time, Jesus will search for you and find you.  You belong to him.  You are worth finding.  You are as valuable as silver to God.  That is what the Bible says.  You are worthy of having a feast thrown in your honor.  You, who are lost, are worthy of being found.  You are worthy of being held.  You are worthy of being healed.  You are valuable to God, especially when you are lost in your pain.

Just as the woman decided that she just could not do this date, the man across the table looked her in the eyes and spoke.

“He still sees you, your husband.  And he still thinks that you are pretty.” 

“How did he know to say that?” she thought to herself as she broke down into tears and allowed the man to gently take her hands to comfort her.  How did he know? 

Some people have the God-given gift of finding.  Some people have the God-given gift of searching out those who are lost in pain and bringing them back to a place where they can find life.  It is a gift from God.

But it is a gift that is not limited to only a few.  The gift has been given to all of us.  All we need are hearts that have the ability care.  All of us have been given that.  Not all of us have practiced using that heart, but God has given all of us the gift needed to care. 

So, we follow Jesus and look.  We truly look at people.  We see the sinner and try to understand.  We see the lost, we see the person who has failed, and we remember that they too belong to God.  We follow Jesus as he searches, keeping an eye out for the pain.  We keep an eye out as we pass by the dark wildernesses of people’s lives.  And when Jesus stops to eat with them, we do as well.  After-all, we want to be there when the angels at the feast sing out for joy over the once lost but now found (Luke 15:10).